Printer-friendly versionIn my household, where my husband and I are both high school English teachers, we generally do not watch movies or TV shows about our profession during the school year. In nearly every teacher movie I can think of, there’s a clear message: If teachers just worked harder, students would succeed. I should be like Erin Gruwell of Freedom Writers, who sacrifices her marriage for her students, who works two jobs to buy new books for her class and who, ultimately, leaves teaching after just a few years. Depictions like these perpetuate the myth that all it takes are a few good martyrs. When they burn out, just hire some more.
But I grew up in the 1980s and watched just about every episode of Who’s the Boss? So I caved when I heard about Teach: Tony Danza. It’s a reality show on A&E in which Tony Danza pursues a lifetime dream of teaching high school.
Instead of hating it, as expected, I was pleasantly surprised by Teach because it doesn’t preach the usual message. In Teach, Danza’s potential for burnout is evident. He is only teaching one class. But the stress of the job shows on his face and in his voice during his early morning web diaries and his afternoon debriefs with an instructional coach. Critics have tried to explain away Danza’s stress as a sign of incompetence, but I see it as a reality of the profession.
The expectations of teachers are completely absurd. Every good teacher knows that there is an infinite amount of work that could be done. There is always more feedback to give to a student, another parent to call, a more creative lesson plan to invent or another meeting to attend. Working closely with young people in a profession that requires adept multi-tasking and interpersonal skills is no easy feat.
What we see most often in Teach is not what academic instruction looks like, but rather an accurate depiction of everything a teacher has to do outside of instructional minutes. Some have argued this as a weakness of the show, but we’ve all attended school and know what both good and bad instruction looks like. Teach reveals to non-educators what happens after the bell rings. This is a truth that the general public needs to know. It is a vital insight for anyone discussing school reform.
There’s no heavy-handed message to this reality TV show, and that’s what I like about it. Documenting one particular school, during one particular year, with a particular celebrity teacher is the aim. But observant viewers will certainly learn about the hardworking people who interact with young people every day. They will learn that teenagers are loveable and often misunderstood. Most of all, I hope they will see that not only are teachers raising beautifully complex humans who are not a problem to be fixed, but that teachers themselves are not a problem to be fixed.
Thomas is an English teacher at Life Academy of Health and Bioscience in Oakland, Calif.
Comments
Wow, you really hit the
Wow, you really hit the proverbial nail on the head. So many of us go to sleep remembering a comment we wanted to share with a child or a great idea for how to improve a lesson the next time we teach it. I caught a bit of Teach and my reaction was the same as yours. This job is both wonderful and impossible. It's about time the world understood that.
Thanks, Laura.
Thanks, Laura.
I started by reading this
I started by reading this blog very sporadically and casually, but I've become hooked. Your eloquent posts seem to embody what teaching and learning are about: finding something new and thought-provoking no matter what the subject (I'd have dismissed this show out of hand), and retaining both respect and a profound sense of guidance vis-a-vis your students. And these seem to be life lessons as well...
Jill, I've been thinking
Jill, I've been thinking these thoughts, too. I ask myself, "What does it mean to be a teacher, to do teaching, for the long haul?" It seems that movies, celebrity administrators, and celebrity teachers answer, "Work 80 hours a week and sacrifice who you are for what you do to become a successful teacher." You're right, the thinking seems to be, "When you burn out (and you will burn out within 3 to 5 years) then we'll just hire someone else." Yet we seem to become better people and better teachers as we slowly gain experience by working year in and year out with all kinds of children from all kinds of places. Let's continue to think of ways we can become better people and better teachers for the long haul!
Hi Laura, Thank you for your
Hi Laura,
Thank you for your well written insight. This is both an "impossible and wonderful" career all in one.
Hallelujah! As a newish (3rd
Hallelujah! As a newish (3rd year) middle and high school teacher, I am so relieved and affirmed by your words. The prevalence of this belief in "Great Teachers Just Work Harder" IS everywhere. I've had to stop reading accolades and information about most Teachers of the Year because of this myth. I'm tempted to pull out my hair each time I hear of how a teacher "solved" a challenging class or school by becoming a workaholic and ignoring their own needs and family.
I believe this myth is key to why we hear teachers so maligned and blamed for the failures of the public education system as a whole. Why is it that I never hear of "bad doctors" as the cause for our health care system failures?
I also worry about the damaging message this myth sends to students, both about their teachers and about the worth of work in our lives. If families, students and school districts expect teachers to be great by working endless hours and sacrificing relationships, values and more in the process, what does this teach students? Do we want a nation of individualist automatons who burn out when they realize work isn't everything?
This focus on work-above-all-else and work-as-primary-identity teaches students that certain jobs are desirable and worthwhile and others are not. Thus, only certain "hard work" is valuable. We know Americans value others disproportionately based on their occupation, perhaps because we work more than any other nation. "What do you do?" is often the very first question we ask. Yet, if a student's situation and grades place them in a janitorial position, then this myth teaches them it's because they simply didn't work hard enough.
In my life, I am trying to focus on "working smart, not working hard." I take it as a given that I will work hard; I don't need to emphasize it. The skills of balancing relationships, creativity, work and time management are just as important as my work ethic, and indeed they shape my motivation and ability to continue doing this magical art we call teaching.
Hats off to you, hard working, hard-thinking and strongly loving teachers!
Jenni, thanks so much for
Jenni, thanks so much for your comment. I'm sorry I'm just now seeing it, several months later. I think you are in a good position coming to this realization in your third year of teaching. You have time to make necessary changes before you lose yourself to an honorable profession. At the end of my fifth year, I chose to take a 25% pay cut in order to work less. The truth is, I still work 50-60 hour a week, but at least I have time now to write or take a hike or walk my dog. I may not be able to pay the rent, but that's another issue altogether :-)
I nearly wept when I read
I nearly wept when I read this. I was doing an exercise recently that asked us to assign percentages to the different aspects of our lives and I realized that my job is more than 50% and the part that used to be "wife" is now zero. I can't blame the demise of my lengthy marriage entirely on my going back into the classroom after my children were out of the nest, but I do know that I spent far too many evenings on the couch grading papers instead of doing things with my spouse, who finished HIS eight hour day and wondered why I was exhausted all the time and not ready to go out or even be able to just hang out and talk in the evenings. I didn't realize until you posted this how the "Outstanding Teachers" ARE those who spend inordinate amounts of time and their own money in doing their job and serving their students and we have to stop making this the model of a good teacher. The last time we were negotiating our contracts, some of the members of the community bemoaned the fact that we are not as dedicated as Miss Jones, who worked like a factory worker and was satisfied with food-stamp-eligible wages. There was a reason, folks, that she was MISS Jones, after all. She might have been a saint, but she probably didn't have much of a life outside of school. The percentages in my life are unhealthy, and, although I love what I do, I don't think the sacrifice is what we should be canonizing.
Kate, thanks for sharing your
Kate, thanks for sharing your story. I am sorry this is how it played out for you. My husband and I are both teachers, and quite frankly, we both wonder how it would be possible to sustain a relationship if we were not. It take an incredible toll on us, and I am constantly wondering at what point we will decide we've sacrificed enough. Thank you for sharing your experience, cautionary as it may be.